Lithium-ion battery recycling project receives $3.8M in funding

Seneca, an engineering consulting firm specializing in industrial materials process engineering, is proud to announce that

The Lithion Recycling project consortium has received $3.8 million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).

“We are delighted that Lithion Recycling Inc. has received support from SDTC. The electric vehicle market is growing, but there is currently no sustainable solution for its lithium-ion battery recycling,” said Benoit Couture, president of Seneca – an engineering consulting firm that specializes in industrial materials process engineering and is a major player in the consortium. “The innovative and patented process we have developed for Lithion Recycling Inc. will allow up to 95 per cent of these batteries’ components to be recovered in an eco-friendly and cost-effective manner. We are excited about the idea of contributing to the shift to a circular economy.”

“SDTC is proud to support Lithion Recycling Inc. in its efforts to address the issue of recycling lithium-ion batteries,” said Leah Lawrence, President and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada. “These batteries are essential to the functioning of our electric vehicles, smartphones and tablets, and finding ways to recycle these batteries will help make Canada a cleaner and healthier place to live.”

Lithion Recycling Inc. is aiming for a worldwide commercialization of its technology, which will begin with the construction of a 200-tons-per-year capacity pilot plant in Quebec in 2019.

Its process will enable the recovery of high value lithium-ion battery components such as cobalt, lithium and graphite, which can then be directly reused by battery manufacturers. Most lithium-ion batteries currently recovered and diverted from landfill sites are handled using processes that have an important environmental footprint and a much lower efficiency.

The process developed by Lithion Recycling Inc. will provide a profitable and sustainable alternative to this issue.